07 September 2010

A Beginning

I have been interested in genealogy since I was 14 years old due in part to a pack-rat grandma who had the basis of several paternal lines. From there the passion swelled.  I look forward to more interaction as word spreads about this site.
Blessed with the geographical opportunity to visit the Allen County Public Library as often as time permits, I have advantages that many family searchers do not have. That is truly a remarkable facility and I encourage anyone who has not been there to plan a trip. You will be amazed at what a marvel ACPL is.
A bit about me - I am a retired high school English and social studies teacher with a B. of ED in English and comprehensive social studies, an MAT in Education, and various other post-graduate credits in my fields.
I have been the President of the Williams County Genealogical Society for many years and have written numerous articles on genealogy and local history in our county. I am currently the Newsletter Editor. Here are some links to several articles I have written:
I became interested in the early divorces of Williams County, Ohio so I researched and printed a spreedsheet with the listing of divorces from 1830-1886 period and wrote a Divorce Primer.
Next I wrote stories about the various divorces that I had found within the divorce records and other sources.
I was intrigued with the murder of Arthur Brown, a young man of the 1890's, who was unfortunately killed by four other young men of the Bryan area. I titled that book, "Native Sons Gone Wrong".
I found a very interesting book on men of the Williams County area which was entitled, "Commemorative Biographical Record of Northwest Ohio" and made a user friendly index.
Many families have "Black Sheep" about whom they know or want to forget; I have written several articles on Williams County mischief-makers.
William Gamber was a graduate of Gorham Fayette High School, the school where I teach. It was thought that his remains from a WWII aircraft accident would be authenticated so I worked on a history of his family with the hope these remains would be his. They were not.
Dr. Paul Siple is a famous Montpelier, OH connection to the world but no one that I found had done any research to his family. Follow this link for insight.
In our library holdings at the Williams County Public Library in Bryan, OH, there is a loose-leaf notebook full of obits for West Unity area residents; I made a user-friendly compilation of these obits for researchers.

No comments: